Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A couple of years ago I was contracted to play the part of a fundamentalist Christian in a film that was to be titled 'The American'. I was given about six months to prepare, and in the course of that time I went to many different churches, looking for a congregation for my character.

Many times I returned to the church called St. Stephens here in Louisville, KY. Initially I was invited to a service by my friend Mark Hamilton who plays guitar in the church band. After a couple of visits, I told the film director about my experiences at St. Stephens. He encouraged me to look elsewhere, which I did... but I kept going back to St Stephens because the music was so good and the energy so strong.

One day, the youth choir performed a song called 'That Shall He Reap'. The song struck a deep chord with me. The writer/composer is a man named James Hall. I kept returning to the words, which of course had long been familiar to me for many reasons, not the least of which being the way that Lou Reed used a key section of the verse in his song 'Perfect Day'.

I ended up writing a song called 'Not Mocked' which contains parts of the verse. During my obsession with these ideas, I came across another song by Mattie Moss Clark called 'That Shall He Also Reap' which moved me quite a bit. I looked for more from Clark, and found that her daughters were also great performers. This is one of their great songs.

“I was surprised how quickly he shoved them in his mouth. I even said ‘Come on, behave yourself’.

“I’ve never seen anyone eat this way. He did not stop to chew the food. He was like a caveman.”

He later added: “I think Craig was deliberately stuffing food into his mouth to wind Jackie up.”

Ms Boyd, who was in an on-off relationship with Mr Short for six years, said: “I was just hysterical. I was holding his hand and he was getting colder and colder. I knew that there was no chance.

“I just couldn’t believe he’d died all over a piece of bread.”

Mr Short who was off work due to long term sickness, had been drinking with friends in the Parkway Social Club on Wednesday, April 15, when he returned to his partner’s house at around 6pm.

Consultant pathologist Jan Lowe told the court that Mr Short was three times the maximum drink driving limit after consuming the equivalent of at least seven pints or 10 shorts.

He added: “It’s likely therefore that the alcohol perhaps led to some disinhibited behaviour on the part of Mr Short causing him to eat a sandwich in the manner that you have heard.

“And the alcohol perhaps caused in-coordination which could have influenced his ability to swallow.”

Dr Lowe, who carried out a post-mortem, gave the cause of death as asphyxia due to inhalation of food.

He added: “A simple first aid procedure by those in the vicinity can prevent a fatal outcome in situations such as this. The process known as the Heimlich manoeuvre can clear a blocked air passage when done quickly and effectively.”

The court heard how Mr Short had been alcohol dependant since 1984 and had suffered with depression and anxiety problems since 1994. He also had a history of overdoses.

Assistant Deputy Coroner Sam Foulks said: “I am satisfied on the evidence I have heard that he intended to eat the bread and pâté in an exaggerated fashion.

“I find that it was intentional, but it had an unintentional consequence which was for him to choke and not be able to breathe.”